Tool-holder



UNITED sTATEsPATENT OFFICE. y

ELIAS HALL, OF RUTLAND. VERMONT.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,504, dated February 7, 1854.

T all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ELIAS HALL, of Rutland, in the county of Rutland and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Instrument or Universal Tool-Holder to be Used as a Handle for Bits and other Tools, of which the following is a full and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters of referenceron it.

My invention consists in adapting to a common handle a shank so contrived that any bit or other tool of the kind, as a imlet, file, screw driver and the like, may e inserted with facility, and held perfectly flrm while in use, and readily removed when another is to be employed.

The' handle and shank, with a screw driver, (as an example) inserted, are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The shank (a) made of iron or other metal is lwrought at the end into a short square socket, tapering toward the handle, and intended to hold the tool to be used. Back of the socket the shank is fiat, with a hole (b) through it, close to the socket and of the same width. The bit or other tool to be used should be made to fit the socket and project through into the hole (b). On the flat side of the shank is screwed a spring (c) flat, and straight, or very slightly bent, with a tooth or catch upon the under side of it (see Fig. 3) so that this tooth drops into the hole (6,) made through the shank. On one side of the tool should be made a notch so as to receive this tooth and keepv the tool firmly in its place. `When the tool is to be removed the spring and tooth are raised by a screw, with a broad head or thumb p-ieoe (CZ) which moves freely through the shank, and is firmly screwed into the spring, as seen in Fig. 2.

A screw may also be inserted through the shank, near this thumb piece, yso asto press against the under spring, and when turned to keep it raised when desired.

I am aware that instruments somewhatsimilar have been used, and that this nearly resembles a bit-stock. But in their construction and especially in the application of the spring my invention is greatly superior. No other instrument of the' kind has before been constructed so that it4 could be seen where the notch should be made upon the tool to receive the tooth of thespring.4

Hence it has been found diflicult to rhave every tool used in such an instrument firmly held, and itis only effected by repeated eX- periments and trials in making the notch.

While in the instrument yabove described itl canbe seen at once exactly where the notch should be made so as to retain the'tool when,

Having a flat spring catch inserted in theV side of theI stock or handle, with an opening through the stock or handle in a line with the catch of the spring, by which you are enabled to see and mark on the shank of`the tool held the point touched by the catch vof the spring w'hen the' shank is pressed home in the socket, and thus readily mark the' recess or notch in the shank.

ELIAS HALL.

llitnesses S. H. HoDGEs,

W. T. NICHOLS. v 

